Last Game

Ice, Ice Baby

There are just some jobs at the end of the season that need to be done in order to maintenance a appyhfishing/life balance.

I'm luck enough to have a under counter bait freezer at home. It is seasonally filled up with various types of deadbaits in the Autumn, frozen sweetcorn and pre-prepared hemp in the spring.

But in between these seasonal changes of bait in the freezer, it has to be defrosted and cleaned to remove the smelly opened yellowing deadbaits and the pungent fluid that leaks from the defrosted packages when I've come back from a piking session.

So with no fishing on the cards today (I was meant to be bream fishing, but lack of sleep prevented this) and the other home job done and dusted, it only left this smelly and messy job to do.

Luckily for me there wasn't too much ice build up and after some scrapping and chipping, the freezer was eventually defrosted, cleaned and sorted out.

All the old bait is now residing on the bed of the pond in an area that is not accessible to any anglers. So to all the pike that I've chased this season, enjoy the free meal being the sigs get them.

Pike Pool

The pike pool is going from strength to strength and the quality of the articles seem to be getting better and stronger.

In order to get more viewers (even though of late we have been getting 4000 view a month) we have taken the plunged and taken the pike pool to facebook. So hopefully, by moving with the times and by opening the pike pool up to the users of facebook, we will be able to allow more people to read the wonderful article that the pike pool team and authors publish on a weekly bases.

 So to all you facebookers, look up the pike pool page and enjoy!!

TL

Errrrmmmm........

Not a lot to report, haven't been fishing for a few weeks now bar an quickie lure session which was uneventful.

Lost my mojo you see and until Sunday evening it had not returned. You have got to want to go fishing and not just go for the sake of it or you will end up resenting it. Been very tired of late and the thought of dragging myself out of bed and hauling gear to the bank filled me with dread. But that's all behind me now. Onwards and upwards

It hasn't all be bad though, as the greenhouse is built and plants have moved in for the home one. The old one has been taken over by the cats Buster and Spike. Both are climbers and love to claw there way up the perspex sheet and perch on top.
Also got the garden tidied and most exiting of all purchased a new pike rod from Dave Lumb, a BB350 for the coming autumn/winter campaign.

Sorted the dead bait freezer ready for the re-stock in August and will be looking to purchase new line and bits so I'm already for the season ahead

Plan is to get on on Saturday, not sure where or for what yet, but this time I am looking forward to it.

TL

Its Friday  lunch time and its that time when I'm in fishing mode.

Looking at the forecast, and its going to p**s it down tomorrow, which is my only avaliable day to fish!!!
Being the case and with less than 6 weeks to the end of the piking season for me, I need to get out on the bank at every opportunity.

**NEW FLASH**

I've have four guest writers lined up for you readers. They will be showing off their writing skills on various angling experiences. Their articles will be on Broadland Pike, Tacking Zander, Fly Fishing in Ireland and Fishing for Mullet.

Keep watching this space...

TL

Manic Week/Weekend

Its Sunday evening, I have a headache and now I'm thinking when I can get to go fishing again.

The wife has returned from a 10 day holiday with her family to Goa and Mumbai and she is knackered and asleep. Don't blame her after a ten hour flight.

Its been a hectic week to say the least, what with work, looking after the step son and rushing around on Thursday and Friday for my mum who was admitted to hospital over night with a burst blood vessel in her stomach lining. The joys of life.

I had hope to fish Saturday morning with Craig. A little river roving with lure and deadbaits, but alas that never happened and I ended up doing other stuff instead.

So what for the weekend ahead? Well I have tomorrow off, but no fishing as it Valentines Day and I have a surprise in store for the wife.

Other than that it will be normal stuff of work and work, with maybe abit of fishing at the weekend.

On a plus note, I do have another guest writer lined up and hopefully he will have his article with me this week for publishing. So keep a look out for it.

Anyhow, have a nice week reader and if you would like to have a guest piece on here, given me a shout and well have a chat.


TL

Bl**dy Weather!!!

No bl**dy fishing again!!!!!

This cold snap is really starting to cheese me off in relation to the stillwater fishing. They have been frozen over for the last 2 1/2 weeks now and the worst of its is that there looks to be no let up for this week or weekend. The surprising thing is that the air temperature has risen, but with no wind the thin ice isn't breaking.

On a side note the local rivers look to be ok, abit coloured but I might be looking to doing some winter roach/chubbing fishing instead.

Seems that most of the UK is in the same boat, so I can't really complain, but its driving me mad.

The Xbox games are getting a serious thrashing, but I need to get out and about so I might resort to getting the mountain bike out and gunning it around some of the local stillwaters and wooded areas.

2010 Review

2010 was an interesting year for a number of different reason, with a couple of first also.

Mid last year, I decided to create my first blog "Altonfishers Dangling Log". This was initially just a crude diary type blog. Nothing in my mind very good, but a way of recording my fishing trip, experiences and thoughts during the year. Towards the back end of the year, after some useful comments from seasonal angling bloggers, I decided to revamp it and give it a name change to its present title. I hope to add to it during 2011 and make it bigger and better.

It was the first and hopefully not the last time I ventured to the Norfolk Broads for 2 magical days fishing with my mate Craig, where we caught 11 pike including a low double from the hired boat.
Except for the unseasonal weather, it was a fabulous time and I'm looking forward to going back in 2011.



It was also a year in which I landed my first double figure carp. It might be surprising to hear, but I've never actively been fishing for carp and in fact even on this occasion, I was actually targeting the tench and bream on this particular water. Carp are definitely a species that I intend to have a go for in 2011.



The "Black Pig" baitboat had its maiden voyage in 2010, barring a few minor setbacks she performed very well and she will be be in use during 2011 for various type of fishing. Hopefully she will help improve my catch rate for the bream and tench on the larger waters.



Tomorrow is the started of 2011 and I'm hopefully off out fishing for first time. With the warmer conditions of late, the thaw should be well in and I should be able to get some pike fishing and hopefully the first fish of 2011. I anticipate it being a bit of a struggle, but it will be nice to get out and fish from the bank rather than the armchair pro bass fishing on the Xbox that I got for Christmas.

So is a tighlines for 2011 and Happy New Years to everyone who reads my blog.

What A Xmas

No fishing. What a pain in the ass.

A whole 11 days without any work and the bloody lakes and rivers are frozen and I get the worst cold in living memory to top it all off.

On a plus note, Santa was very nice to me with a new pair of Trakker Nordic salopettes, digital scales and a Xbox with Rapala Fishing Game with rod and reel controller. Happy days.

At least it will keep the boredom in check whilst i wait for everthing to thaw out.

So what else has been happening then? To be hones not a lot. Normal happy Xmas and the normal "don't do anything for New Years" will soon be over. Then hopefully I can get the rods out.

I am booked up for a days fishing in Feb with PAC and I also starting to organise dates for my Broads trip and also looing at a trip to Newcastle in the spring for a with Craig for abit of Salmon fishing.

TL and Happy New Year to you all

Change of hobby??

Its seems a long time ago since I had a run, let alone had a pike on the bank.

Saturday saw me and the piking partner going out again on what on paper looked like a good day.

Forecast was good with light westerly winds, dry conditions, no frost and even a rise in both the ambient air temperature and barometric pressure.

I arrived first, nice and early and was setup in the dark with a ting of the approaching sunrise behind me. It was a nice winters morning and there was an air of expectation of some sport ahead.
Craig arrived about 45mins later and settled in next door to me. Between us we had five baits out at various different distances from the bank.

As the sun rose, you could notice that it could reach the highest expected temperature of 9 deg C. At around 9:30am, but when we thought the warm was finally coming through, the cloud cover broke and the temperature started to plummet from 6 deg C. by 11am, it was a cool 2.7 deg C on the bank and a even cooler 1.7 deg C in the margins.

This colder conditions, were not what we had been lead to believe by the met office and soon, the additional layers were put on and hot tea consumed. Alas, the mornings action was as dire as the plummeting temperature and by midday, we have given up for this particular swim.

Craig decided to head home, but I decided to give a new area a crack. So we said our goodbyes and headed off.
After a brisk walk, I was soon on position in the new location and plumed the depth. Nothing deep close in, so the three baits were cast to various deeper channels and holes in found of me.

It looked like a good plan, as not only were the grebe's and cormorant's in abundance, but I also had three female Goosanders diving at about 60 yds out. They had managed to find the prey fish, so i was quietly confident that my baits were positioned in the right area's. Dive after dive the Goosander and grebes came up with small bait fish so I felt it was only a matter of time before one of the juicy offerings was consumed by a pike.



Three hours later and nothing, so I decided to pack up and head for home. Two rods were already reeled in and mostly packed up then the BBB on the final rod went off. The lamprey had come to life, and as I head to the rod,I could see that line was peeling off. But as I picked it up it stopped. I tightened up and nothing. Bait was retrieved and there was not a marked on it.
I guess on of the diving birds had tweaked the line whilst chasing the bait fish.

So another weekend and another wogan. But at least the bird watching is going well, a number of species ticked off.
Even saw a nice wintery sight, a kingfisher. Rare at the best of time on this water in the summer.

Hope the piking picks up for the Xmas period

TL and Merry Xmas to you all

Not a lots of Fish.....

Sunday was a waste of time. 1 deg C and a easterly wind. Not what was forecast.

So with 5 baits in the water between 2 of us and not a sniff, I resorted to talking wintery pictures of birds and snowy trails





Lots of Cormorants (above). 40+ plus seen so far



I'm told this is a Redshank (above)





TL

What is a angler to do

It been along time since I last had a opportunity to fish and the withdrawal symptoms have well and truly set in.

The weather isn't great at the moment with day time temperatures of 1-3 deg C and night time temperature going down to minus 5 deg C.

Its snowing here at the moment, but there is light at the end of the tunnel with the change in wind direction and hopefully the snow will stop, temperature goes up abit and the pike will be on the hunt for food.

I can really complain as it has been a good start to the campaign with 20+ fish, but it would be nice to find the high double figure fish and maybe a twenty of two.

It could be time to give the usual place's a rest for now and see what lurks in some of the other waters. I've had good indications from a new lake that I fish in the early part of the season, but as yet I've not had the chance of getting back up there to give it another crack as it as fair drive from home. Alternatively, I could try a water that I normally fish alot, but as yet haven't ventured onto due to other places fishing well.

Well I have two season coming up over the next couple of weeks, so it might be worth trying at least somewhere different for one session.

Or, I could give the whole piking thing a rest and go for some winter chub on the local rivers?

What is a angler to do???

Friday Thoughts

The various forums have been buzzing of late with lots of what if, how do you, and when do you type questions.

Whilst it interesting to see peoples enthusaim to find out more, some of it is the same old questions, just with a different slant.

One of my favour question on the PAC site was re conditions for a pike season and how you should approach early season pike fishing. For me, I identified a number of steps to enable me to have a sucessful session and season.

For a session:

1) Fish as much and as long as possible
2) Stay mobile
3) Look for natures signs.....prey fish activity, bird life etc
4) Avoid very bright conditions
5) Fish each rod differnetly to the other e.g.popup, hard on the bottom, rovng float
6) Don't be afraid to experiment with baits or rigs
7) Be confident in your appoarch
8) Don't forget the margins
9) Look for features, wed beds, overhanging trees, structure
10) Enjoy you fishing

For a season

As above but with the following

11) Identify 5 waters 3 old, 2 new
12) Try something new, new water, new way of fishing, new bait
13) Enjoy being outdoors, what ever the weather
14) Spend time fishing along and as part of a team

So if your out fishing this weekend, give some of these a try, it might just help you catch that one fish more or a new pb.

TL

Bait Boat and Fighting Fish

No fishing this weekend or next I'm afraid. Same really as I have been on a bit of a roll of late and was looking forward to wetting a line for esox lucius.

Still I did find time to get down to one of my favour venues to give the maiden voyage to the "Black Pig" bait boat.
Quite wisely (thanks wife), I secured the boat to a rod and reel just in case of any problems and I'm glad I did. Nothing major, but I had forgotten to crimp the leads onto the motor and the vibration from the motor shook them off.

That was quickly resolved and the next minor issue was the rudder and motor controls had been inverted, so a quick swap of the leads and ago we were morning in the right direction.

The only other slight issues are a small weep from the prop shaft, (soon fixed with some Vaseline) and the position of the battery which was too far forward and under speed, lifted the prop out of the water.



Whilst packing away the bait boat etc, I step on something in the mud, it appeared to be a reel and after a quick wash down and clean up it in deed was a reel, Shimano Bait runner. The best bit is it works and just needs a new spool.

Perhaps I'll find something interesting again at the waters edge, when I conduct the next test run, You never do know.

Over the last couple of months, "we" as a family have been setting up a tropical tank. Now to date we have 12 fish all of which I can remember apart from the catfish, guppy and Silver Tip Tetras.

The tropical fish tank is going from strength to strength. Just introduced the last fish, a Siamese Fighting Fish



A pretty little fish and "Sammy" as the wife has named him is settling in well with the other inhabitants of the tank.

TL for now..

Christmas Eve, well nearly....

Yes this weekend 100's if not thousands of pikers up and down the country are sitting, roaming or boating the lakes, lochs, rivers, reservoirs, and pond of the UK and Ireland. All in search of the first pike of the season.

For some it will triumphant, for others wogan, but for all I hope that they enjoy it.

one of the "Bear Pit" members, describe that days leading up to the magical 1 Oct as that feeling you get leading upto Christmas Eve. That feeling of excitement, trepidation and small am out of fear of the unknown.

For me, that magical feel is still there and on Wednesday, when I hit the bank at 6am, all those feelings will be there.

Reading the various forums, fish are coming out and there seem to have summered well. Judging for my first fish from the Broads last weekend, the pike has been feeding well on the large shoals of bait fish, so hopefully we will see some good fish gracing our nets.

So to you all Tighlines and enjoy the season because before too long it will gain be gone.

TL

Lands far Away

Back from sunny Malta.......boy was it hot, 30+ plus Deg C on the beach and a sea temperate of 25 Deg C.

The family flew from Gatwick last Tuesday for a weeks R&R and boy did we need it after the 3 day wedding, The wedding was pretty uneventful as wedding goes, but spread over 3 days, and which started on 6am on a Friday and finished when we got home at 1:30am on the Monday it was long.

So off to the airport, nice easy run at 2am in the morning and after a quick park and ride, followed by a super quick check in we were lokking around the shops in duty free.

Now for sometime I've been after an underwater camera from the snorkeling, but alas they have usually been big bulky and expensive bits of kit. Not any more. Price are rock bottom and there is quite a choice on the market.

Any much deliberation and a nice friendly nudge from my wife and the Dixon salesperson, I purchased a Fuji film Finepix XP10.

With its 5 x optical zoom, 12mp and a 2.7" LCD screen it looked the part. While only having an operating depth of 3m underwater, it is more than enough coupled with the zoom for snorkeling.

So having parted with the dosh, the camera was safely pack into the hand luggage await its first use.....

After arrival and the usual day 1 of getting our bearing, 2 day swiftly arrived and the snorkeling commenced.......

Lots of lovely fish on off, Grey Mullet, Flying Gurnard, Skipjacks etc.....

Also on my walks around the rocky shores saw a number of men fishing. In Malta shore fishing is done with a pole and float setup with the simplest of bait......mashed bread.....the mullet which is the main catch, love it and I even managed to gets some shots of them in actions....

We did the normal touristy things of going into Valetta, visited Comino bay (very rocky tourist trap).......saw a couple of church, read books (recommend Cry of the Sloth by Sam Savage, he also a book about a rat called Firmin) and generally lounged about catching the sun and eating and drinking.....

How I'm back in reality, it struck me this morning that I have not done any fishing for nearly a whole month!!!!!. I think I should put that right on Friday, then the boy is back at school and the wife is at work.

Tomorrow is out of the question, do to a number of things, 1) carpet for spare room is being fitted, 2) glazing man is coming to give a quote and finally 3) the winters pike deadbaits are arriving, after placing my order this morning, result!!!! (Thanks everyone at Baits Direct).

Will update you all on Fridays fishing once I decided where to go and what to go for.

TL for now!!!!!

Holiday is coming

Well today is the last day of work........

Off on holiday for the next two weeks, which include a 3 day wedding, a week in Malta and then a few days to myself.
As have not done any fishing for ages due to the family having a wedding on during the month. All my patience's and efforts has been going into ensuring that my wife stays sane......

After this weekends wedding, we off to sunny Malta for a weeks R&R on the Med. I'm not sure if I'm taking the travel rod (ET 4 pc Sneaker with Abu Max baitcaster 20lb braid) with me, but the snorkeling gear is already packed along with a underwater camera.

On the pike season planning stage. I've been getting the gear ready for the upcoming Piking season, with a initial trip to the Broads for a long weekend and then 5 days of fishing my local water in early October.

This summer, I've been to making my own Pike floats, 6" long dowel (15mm dia) rounded off, painted black with different coloured tops and a brass eyelet screwed into the bottom.

Tested the prototypes over the summers on a marker rod set out and am convinced the the finished float design is more than suitable for the piking campaign. Its also alot cheap, a pike float costs between £2.00 - £3.50, mine works out at 40p!!!!!! So a long of savings are to be had.

Bait boat has not been finished, so close but yet so far. Hopefully after being pointed in the right directions on some materials for the hopper, I get her out in September. She's water tight, just not got the bait release sorted. My mock up works, just need to build it in a better material that an old washing tablet box.

TL for now.....

Thank Crunchy.......

....Its Friday.....

The wife is out at a Shakespeare thing in the forest and the boy is at his dads (thank god) for the best part of a week..........anyone who has a teenage boy will know what I on about.........

No appreciation for anything and always wanting more of something and less of everything else.......

This week its been more freedom, less chores....oh and more having a go at the parents for anything..........until he want something..........

Today he wanted and needed clothes....... no longer can we parm him off with Tesco or Asda stuff its surfer designer clothes...........

Now I know what its like to want to look good and have nice clothes....but does it have to cost an arm and a leg for it......when did fabric prices go though the roof.........or am I just getting old and remembering the day when it only cost a 10 quid for a t-shirt and when did a sweat shirt (aka hoody for you younger readers) became 40 quid!!!!!!! Is it really worth that much because it says Billabong on it!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, it does and he is sort of happy with the stuff we got so that the main thing..........

Just got back from the neighbour for a chat and a moan and a nice cuppa (cheers by the way if you reading this, if not? WHY NOT THIS IS GOOD STUFF).....

Well tomorrow is looking good, into town to sort holiday money and pick up the tickets, followed by having my niece and nephew for the afternoon while there mum and dad go to a friends wedding and have a jolly good time....or get blind drunk in the vain hope of remembering their youth..........

No fishing planned this weekend, but if the temperature continues to drop during the day and night, I might be tempted to get the lure out......

It just been too hot to fish for pike even it the lakes, the "pond" last weekend had temps of nearly 20 deg C....so hopefully the will have dropped a few deg C and the pike will recover a lot better than what I been hearing from others.......

If the temp is still to high, will probably give the lures a miss as I don't want any going belly up.......

So TL for now.......

PS Added a few more links to other site including the bear pike aka Pike and Predator forum....which I have just started on....use to be on Charlie Bettell's site until his passing away.......RIP Charlie, hope you live the blog!!!!!

No Fishing

Well the weather got the better of me.......:-(.....no fishing friday, but on a lighter note the spare room decorating is well underway with ceiling and woodwork sanded and re painted.....

Just waiting on the wife to find the "red" that matches the curtain and we are well away......

Will have to see what the weather brings for the weekend..........

TL

What to do...

Well the bait freezer is back online....but alas no bait ......I did look into a claim on the old house insurance, but for the cost of the bait against the cost of the excess......it wouldn't be worth while.....So it Wednesday, I'm at work and planning my Friday flexi day off so it decision time.......Do I......

a) fish the my favourite "pond" for it double figure bream on a twin rod methods and hope the old tench make an appearance

b) fish the decoy lake for it roach/rudd on the float and hope that the tench and carp make an appearance on the method feeder

c)fish SWP specimen lake which is a very commercial big carp water, and fish for it bream and tench which the carpers caught regularly, but they dismiss.....

Decisions, decisions .....All will be fished with similar baits and tactic.......sweet corn, halibut pellets over a fishy ground bait hempy..........

But if I fish the decoy, I need Red Maggots and that could mean me going to the tackle shop and having to buy other tackle that I probably don't need I also need to take the cat "Buster" to the vets tomorrow......at 17;40.....so a trip to the tackle shop could leave this a bit tight in getting home and getting the cat in for his domain of the meadow where he is probably right now chasing some little critters ..

Now the cats "Buster & Spike" are a newish addition to the house hold. Buster is a year and abit old and is my cats....i wanted to call him Dexter after the famous serial killer on Sky1.........but was convinced to call him Buster instead (but I has started to slip and call him Dexter) ............in some ways he is a dog ......when I'm at home he is at my side......when at work he's out in the meadow....hunting,sleep and generally doing cats stuff....... ..........One of these days this cats will be in the car on a fishing trip I'm sure

Spike on the other hand is the wife's cat, he is 9 months old ......Now he like the idea of being outside in the meadow, but realized from an early age that when humans are out at work...this = prime sleeping locations .....aka the king size bed with duvet .......

Anyhow, I degress .....Where should I fish???????

Option A - The pond "free fishing" and a generally relaxed day behind the buzzer with a good chance of bream and the odd tench

Option B - a small charge for a tickets, but likely to be pestered by small roach/rudd.....

Option C costly water, but the rewards could be double figure tench/bream and may be one of the 20's or 30's........The choice is yours!!!TL........